Message of condolences of President Barroso to Mr Dmitri Medvedev, President of the Russian Federation

Message from Mr José Manuel Durão Barroso, President of the European Commission, to His Excellency Mr Dmitri Medvedev, President of the Russian Federation:

"Dear Mr. President,

I would like to express my sincere sympathy to and solidarity with the people affected by the forest and peat bog fires and with the authorities of the Russian Federation. I would like to convey, on behalf of the European Commission and on my own behalf, my sincere condolences to the relatives of the people who lost their lives.

I commend the huge efforts deployed by the Russian authorities to face this unprecedented natural disaster. In order to support these efforts to fight the wildfires and their consequences, a number of EU member states are already providing concrete support. The EU monitoring and information centre has been in daily contact with EMERCOM to monitor closely the situation and stands ready to step up its efforts if requested.

Let me assure you that the European Commission stands ready to provide further assistance to the Russian Federation in these extraordinary hard times, including in the post-crisis phase.